'I never touched her' says former caretaker accused of historic rape and abuse of girl

A former butcher and school caretaker who is accused of sexually and physically abusing a young girl when he was a teenager told a jury he was innocent of the allegations.

Married father-of-two Donald Flood, 59, is on trial at Bradford Crown Court.

He has pleaded not guilty to five charges of rape, five of indecent assault and two of assault causing actual bodily harm.

The prosecution claims Flood, of Arthington Lane, Otley, physically assaulted the girl when she was aged five, but within two years the offences had escalated to rape and indecent assault.

The sex abuse was said to have taken place in the city when Flood was aged between 14 and 19. Some of the sex assaults are alleged to have happened in Peel Park, Bradford.

The woman, who went to police in 2011, had claimed that Flood, a trainee butcher at Rawson Market in Bradford city centre at the time, had a carving knife with him during some of the assaults and had threatened to cut her throat if she told anyone.

But yesterday Flood, giving evidence, denied violently assaulting the girl and threatening her with a knife.

His barrister, Steven Crossley, said: “The girl says that from the ages of six to 11 there was regular sex with her. Did that take place?”

Flood replied: “No, not at all.”

Asked whether he had sex with the girl in Peel Park, Flood said: “No. It was impossible to do anything without being seen - not that I wanted to, of course.”

Flood added: “I never touched her in any shape or form.”

Mr Crossley asked: “The girl says there were regular beatings, punching, kicking, hitting, did that take place at all?”

“No,” Flood replied.

“Was there ever an occasion where you sexually abused, sexually touched the girl at any stage of her childhood?”

“No, not at all,” said Flood.

The defendant was working as a caretaker at Pool CE Primary School at the time of his arrest last year. The allegations are unrelated to any schools in the area.

Ipsoregulated

This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here